''A'' is the 13th studio album by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Jethro Tull. It was released on 29 August 1980 in the UK and 1 September of the same year in the United States. The album was initially written and recorded with the intention of being frontman

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist w ...

's debut solo album (hence the album's title: the master tapes were marked "A" for Anderson during recording), however the album was eventually released as a Jethro Tull album after pressure from

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

. Anderson has since stated that he regrets allowing the album to be released under the Jethro Tull name. Musically, the album was a departure from prior Tull works, adopting more of an

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

sound with heavy use of

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, although still retaining the band's trademark folk influence and Anderson's flute playing. Lyrically, the album saw a similar departure from the fantasy and folklore themes of previous Tull work, instead emphasizing contemporary matters such as the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. The album was the first Tull album released following a large lineup change which saw drummer Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and keyboardists

John Evan John Evan (born John Spencer Evans; born 28 March 1948, in Derby, Derbyshire.) is a British musician and composer. He is best known for having played keyboards for Jethro Tull from April 1970 to June 1980. Evans' father was headmaster at a De ...

and

Dee Palmer Dee Palmer (formerly David Palmer; born 2 July 1937) is an English composer, arranger, and keyboardist best known for having been a member of the progressive rock group Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull from 1976 to 1980 (although she had worked wi ...

departing the band in 1980 while bassist

John Glascock John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

had died from heart complications the previous year. The album instead features Glascock's touring replacement

Dave Pegg Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...

on bass in his first recorded appearance with the band,

Mark Craney Mark Craney (August 26, 1952 – November 26, 2005) was an American rock and jazz drummer. Biography Craney grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His father had played the drums and was a big influence on his musical career. Craney initially p ...

on drums and

Eddie Jobson Edwin "Eddie" Jobson (born 28 April 1955) is an English musician noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K. and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zap ...

on keyboards (with Jobson credited as a "special guest") and electric violin.

Overview

''A'' was recorded as an intended

solo album before Tull's record label,

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

, asked that it become credited to the group. This is the reason for the album's title, as the tapes were marked "A" for "Anderson". It is noted for its more synthesiser-based sound, a fact which created controversy among many of the band's fans. On the other hand, it features a folk-influenced piece, "The Pine Marten's Jig". ''A'' features a dramatically different line-up of Tull from the band's previous album, '' Stormwatch'' (1979). Former keyboardist

and organist

were fired from the group, while drummer

Barriemore Barlow Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow (born 10 September 1949, Birmingham) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist for the rock band Jethro Tull, from May 1971 to June 1980. Christened Barrie, 'Barriemore' was an affectation ...

left the band due to depression over the death of

as well as plans to start his own band. The only members of Tull to appear on both ''Stormwatch'' (1979) and ''A'' (1980) are Ian Anderson and

Martin Barre Martin Lancelot Barre (; born 17 November 1946) is an English guitarist best known for his longtime role as lead guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from 1968 until the band's initial dissolution in 201 ...

. This is also bassist

's first appearance on a Tull studio recording, but he had become a member of the band during the ''Stormwatch'' tour in 1979, replacing the deceased Glascock. Conflicting reasons have been given for the line-up change. Anderson has stated that he wanted to take the band in a different direction from the folk rock and progressive rock of the 1970s. Barriemore Barlow was unhappy with the direction the band was taking and later stated that he would have left anyway. However, biographer David Rees reports in his book '' Minstrels in the Gallery: A History of Jethro Tull'' (2001) that Anderson had never intended to replace Jethro Tull's previous line-up with the musicians who recorded ''A'', but was forced by Chrysalis Records, which had decided to release his 'solo' album under the name Jethro Tull. This claim was further evidenced by Anderson's note in the 2003 re-release of the album. A 40th anniversary box set was released in April 2021, featuring the album remixed by

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...

. It includes some bonus tracks, a DVD of ''Slipstream'', and audio of a concert in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Track listing

*The 2004 remastered two-disc edition includes ''

Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term slip ...

'' as a bonus DVD.

''2021 40th Anniversary A La Mode Edition''

Personnel

Jethro Tull *

– vocals, flute *

– guitar *

– bass guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

– drums Additional personnel *

– keyboards,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, electric violin on ''The Pine Marten's Jig'' technical staff * Robin Black – sound engineer * John Shaw – photography * Peter Wagg – art direction

Charts

References

External links

* * (Bonus DVD) {{DEFAULTSORT:A (Jethro Tull Album) Jethro Tull (band) albums 1980 albums Chrysalis Records albums Island Records albums Albums produced by Ian Anderson